Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-02-21-Speech-4-226"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20080221.21.4-226"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, recently, the situation in Belarus has been evolving rapidly. Since mid-January, five of the six political prisoners previously identified as such have been released. One of these political prisoners, though, former presidential candidate Aleksandr Kozulin, is still in jail and in a poor state of health.
On this matter, as your resolution underlines, we have had a number of meetings at technical level with Belarusian experts on matters of mutual interest, such as energy, transport and environment. Let me, however, reiterate that the scope of these meetings remains limited as long as the current political conditions prevail in Belarus.
As regards to the Commission actions to support civil society in Belarus, the Commission remains committed more than ever to supporting Belarusian civil society, and our 2008 assistance plan is aimed in particular at cementing Belarusian civil society and independent media. In addition, the Commission has also made clear that its support to the European Humanity University in exile in Vilnius will continue as long as necessary. I will also pass the message about the Free University on to Commissioner Figeľ. I think that this is very interesting and a bright idea.
A few other comments to Mr Pinior and Ms Schroedter. The opening of the negotiations on visa facilitation and on readmission is amongst the elements that would be considered in the event of a real breakthrough in our relationship. According to EU policy, visa facilitation can only be considered in the context of the European Commission readmission policy as part of a real partnership in external relations.
This was explained to Belarus in the verbal notes sent by the Commission on 8 May. The European Union’s willingness to enter into such negotiations with neighbouring countries with an action plan in force has also been reaffirmed, by the Commission communication on this matter of December 2006. In the case of Belarus these conditions are not met.
On the point raised by Mr Bielan, Commission contracts are awarded following strict tendering procedures in order to ensure a transparent and fair competition. This means that the Commission does not support radio and TV stations as such, but specific programmes instead. The ENPI Regional Information and Communication Programme includes support to media activities of EUR 7 million over three years for seven countries. The tendering procedure is ongoing, and media from both European Union and partner countries are eligible to submit tenders for contracts.
The Commission, for its part, through my colleague Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner, has expressed its satisfaction with the release of the prisoners, which has been a long-standing request from all EU institutions, including the European Parliament.
But we have equally been clear that we want to see all political prisoners freed, and that we want to see an end to the systematic harassment of Belarusian civil society, before we can give a new dimension to our relationship with Belarus.
In other words, our message to Belarus remains the same: there cannot be a full partnership with Belarus until Belarus takes convincing steps towards democratisation, and respect for human rights and the rule of law.
This is the gist of the European message to Belarus that the Commission released over a year ago and which includes the ‘12 points for democratisation’ that your resolution mentions. Again, the release of all political prisoners would be an important step in this regard.
In addition, we will be closely watching the parliamentary elections set for September 2008. The organisation of free and fair elections would be seen as a decisive step on the part of the Belarusian authorities. We hope that the OSCE will be able to send a full-scale observation mission to this election and that the European Parliament will also be able to send representatives.
Another important point that your resolution demands is that Belarus should apply a moratorium on the death penalty. The European Union has carried this message to the Belarusian authorities.
Coming back now to the recent developments in Belarus, another issue close to our hearts has been progressing fast over the last months: the opening of the European Commission’s delegation in Minsk, which we officially requested more than two years ago, is now imminent. We hope to be able to sign the establishment agreement soon, so that our delegation can be opened without delay.
This delegation will allow us to reinforce our links with Belarusian civil society and also to develop contacts with the middle rank of the administration that could be open to democratic change."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples